What is most significant about traditional lunar new year or Chinese new year?

Chinese new year is celebrated every year all over the world. For as long as there is Chinese people gather anywhere, they will celebrate Chinese new year (CNY for short) or lunar new year. No one can really back date when this tradition started but it is quite obvious as the history went back a long way, when the society then was very much agricultural base. And therefore, food is what it is all about. To celebrate the start of the new year after a very cold freezing cropless winter. A new hope, a new chapter to start to sow the first seed, to wish to have a great harvet at the end of the autumn.

Food therefore is something very significant and you can’t get away from when coming to celebrate CNY.

This year I was fortunate to have such ‘coincidence’ to happen to be in Taipei. Fortunate because I know Taipei is very much still keeping their tradtional even as she portrays herself as a cosmopolitan. There is this famous street called Dihua Street (迪化街） that about 1 month before the CNY, the whole street will be filling with streetside stalls that sell all kind of food just for celebrating CNY – treat your family and your visitors during CNY.

I am attaching some pictures here just to show you the varieties they are selling on the streetside: from dried food like dried octopus, mushrooms, to fancy candies like imported Jelly beans (the real stuff)!

Candies! candies!

Ah…barbecue pork..

It is still quite early in the day time to experience the crowd. Wait till you go there at night! I preferred to visit there during lunch time, not so congested yet.

Many of the street stall helpers are likely to be students working part time. As times are bad, many teenagers are willing to work part time to earn some wages.

Traditional candies, kind of like nougats, with many flavours too!

Hmm, yummy, all kind of flavoured dried squids. They are really delicious but watch out the calories and etc.. he he.

All kinds of dried seeds like melon seeds. You have to skillfully bite open the seed to eat the flesh inside. It comes with various flavours too!f

Traditional ‘biscuits’. Inside these have different kind of ingredients. Mostly are made from nuts or bean pastes.